Thread: New To Restoring Handsaws

Originally Posted by Morbius

I emailed the guys at Tools For Working With Wood and they gave me the following quotes for shipping to Australia for single units:

Ouch! Freight is a real dampener on weighty stuff.

While a saw vise is a handy thing to have, and I would certainly not pass one up if it presented itself for the right price, it is far from essential. Few of us would sharpen saws every day like we do plane irons & chisels, so it doesn't matter if your saw vise isn't the slickest thing around. So unless you are very flush, I reckon you are beter off saving those precious dollars for other more essential items, & particularly when starting out. I've been thinking about getting myself a 'real' saw vise for so long, I've decided I can last the remaining years without it....!

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

I've been thinking about getting myself a 'real' saw vise for so long, I've decided I can last the remaining years without it....!

That's funny Ian - you have a handmade one out of gorgeous wood with a handturned (?) wood screw...why would you want another one?

But hey, if your getting a new one I can take the old one off your hands if it'll help you out....!

Originally Posted by johnredl

That's funny Ian - you have a handmade one out of gorgeous wood with a handturned (?) wood screw...why would you want another one?

But hey, if your getting a new one I can take the old one off your hands if it'll help you out....!

John - don't get too excited - the one you refer to is quite likely going to see me out. Like too many of my tools, it was made in a bit of a hurry(inspired by a pic of an old wooden saw vise I saw somewhere), to see if the principle worked well enough. The screw is one I had made as a spare for my wooden bar claamps, and isn't ideal because the thread goes all the way to the boss, but it works ok, & doesn't catch much. It works well enough, that I haven't been motivated to make the 'production model' yet, though I did get as far as making an apporpriate screw a year or so ago.

Just to give you some indication of how long it could take, I made a 'prototype' double-radiused plane at least 25 years ago. It has a couple of 'faults', too, but likewise gets the job done well enough, & like the saw vise, it's not a tool you use every day. I can't even remember where the bits I put aside to make the 'real' one are!

Cheers,

I've been having the strangest run of luck lately.
My hand is healing from cutting the tendon in my thumb at the moment. I've just been cleared by the doctor to start using my hand for some light duties around the house and as I was preparing to start refurbishing these saws, I discovered that I have managed to catch conjunctivitis!

Fortunately, I am not contagious over the internet, so will post a couple more pictures and take some more measurements shortly

Craig

Here we go.

This one is a Canadian Disston. It is 24 1/2 inches long with 6 tpi.

The saw is marked "D8" and has a rake on the teeth at about 15 degrees. I suspect this is a rip saw as well.

I discovered this morning there's a few types of D8's, so there's good chance I am wrong

Craig

It would help if I included the pictures, wouldn't it?

Here we go:

Canadian Disston 01.jpg Picture of the whole saw.

Canadian Disston 02.jpg Picture of the handle.

Craig

Originally Posted by Morbius

...... I suspect this is a rip saw as well.

Don't think so Craig. It's hard to tell from a pic of this scale, but from the large rake angle, and what looks to me like bevels on the teeth, I'd say it was filed as a crosscut. Unusually large teeth for a crossscut, for sure, but suited to cutting through thick chunks of semi-green hardwood, like the timber framers of old had to do.

Cheers,

Ian,

Thanks. That's good news - I was starting to think all the saws I purchased were rip saws

Craig

Originally Posted by Morbius

Ian,

Thanks. That's good news - I was starting to think all the saws I purchased were rip saws

Craig

Craig, a saw doesn't need to remain at any particular configuration if you so choose - many saws don't carry the tooth pitch or pattern they started life with! It is a relatively simple matter to convert a suitable saw & make it anything you want. The factors to consider if you want to do a conversion are the gauge of the plate (big teeth go best with a heavier gauge plate, because of the forces involved), how it's ground (tapered or even thickness throughout) and overall size.

For example, the old girl in your pic above has seen a lot of resharpenings, and has probably lost half of its original blade. It looks like a post-WW2 model, but is probably still taper-ground, in which case, the wear will have brought it down to a much thinner & lighter saw than when it started out. In its present form, you may find it a bit whippy (especially if it hasn't been re-tensioned after all that wear) and too light for heavy crosscutting. A conversion to an 8 or even 10 tpi crosscut could be a good move, & give you a saw that would be very nice for crosscutting stock between about 18 & 50mm thickness...

Cheers,

Ian,

Thanks for that advice! I think it is a candidate for being refiled with a more consistent profile, s is this next one.
Again, it is a Disston, measuring 25 3/4 inches from toe to heel. The heel has a "7" stamped on it. Again, the teeth are uneven with some larger than the others. The saw has 7 tpi with a rake that varies from about 15 degrees to nearly 45 degrees.

Rough Disston 01.jpg Picture of the entire saw.

Rough Disston 02.jpg Closeup of the handle.

This poor old saw has had a rough life and the split nuts have fared poorly. To rescue this one, I am going to need to source some new split nuts.

I suspect that this is another crosscut saw.

Craig

Originally Posted by IanW

Don't think so Craig. It's hard to tell from a pic of this scale, but from the large rake angle, and what looks to me like bevels on the teeth, I'd say it was filed as a crosscut. Unusually large teeth for a crossscut, for sure, but suited to cutting through thick chunks of semi-green hardwood, like the timber framers of old had to do.

Cheers,

Roughly estimating 3" from the heel to the first lower saw-nut ... I get about 6 teeth per inch (6tpi) = 7ppi

I'm sure Morbius will blow that out of the water by actually measuring it

Cheers,
Paul

Originally Posted by pmcgee

Roughly estimating 3" from the heel to the first lower saw-nut ... I get about 6 teeth per inch (6tpi) = 7ppi

I'm sure Morbius will blow that out of the water by actually measuring it

Cheers,
Paul

Paul,

I had somehow managed to forget to attach photos to the original post, so I added the pictures in the next post. The saw measured 24 1/2 inches long with 6 tpi.

Craig

Originally Posted by Morbius

Paul,

I had somehow managed to forget to attach photos to the original post, so I added the pictures in the next post. The saw measured 24 1/2 inches long with 6 tpi.

Craig

Duh. ... R.T.F.M

This is an Aussie board ... there should be a little 'smilie' for "(I'm a) Drop-Kick"

Paul

Hey hey hey ...

Originally Posted by IanW

John - don't get too excited - the one you refer to is quite likely going to see me out. Like too many of my tools, it was made in a bit of a hurry(inspired by a pic of an old wooden saw vise I saw somewhere), to see if the principle worked well enough. The screw is one I had made as a spare for my wooden bar claamps, and isn't ideal because the thread goes all the way to the boss, but it works ok, & doesn't catch much. It works well enough, that I haven't been motivated to make the 'production model' yet, though I did get as far as making an apporpriate screw a year or so ago.

Just to give you some indication of how long it could take, I made a 'prototype' double-radiused plane at least 25 years ago. It has a couple of 'faults', too, but likewise gets the job done well enough, & like the saw vise, it's not a tool you use every day. I can't even remember where the bits I put aside to make the 'real' one are!

Cheers,

Any chance of a picture?

Thanks,

Craig